Unopinionated is the new opinion

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By: Alex Spadacenta ’17

I’ve never felt the need to express my political opinions. I’ve never officially decided which party I stand with, nor what candidate I support. So when I found a sticker on my car that said, “Save Freedom Stop Hillary,” I felt like someone was trying to to implement their views on me and tell me what candidate to like.

What was this person trying to get out of putting the sticker on my car? Was it just for laughs? To get it off their hands? Were they actually trying to implement their views onto me?

The sticker made me think. It made me realize how little of an opinion I had about this election.

I noticed that most of what I knew about the candidates, was based on what I had heard people around me say about them, and none of it was really how I felt or what I thought.

However, I’m not saying I’m uninformed. I understand how government works, how elections work and what issues are at the top of everyone’s minds. I know which way Democrats and Republicans sway on issues, and I just did have personal opinions based on the beliefs of both parties, it was based on what others were saying.

Being unopinionated in an election as polarized as this one causes me more stress than I should have. Suddenly I feel out of the loop, and judged for not expressing how I feel.

I will periodically be sitting in on a conversation between friends where they are discussing the debate that happened the previous night, what this candidate said on Twitter or how they have changed their views throughout this election. While I know what they are talking about, I almost never feel the urge to contribute.

Do I wish I participated more in the election? Maybe. I almost wish I had a more intense reaction to the sticker. At the same time, it’s important to not be discouraged if you cannot contribute much to the conversation. Sometimes saying something will only cause more tension.

So to the person who put the “Save Freedom Stop Hillary” sticker on my car, thank you. For a long time I was insecure about not having an opinion, but the sticker got me thinking. You might have felt the need to put that sticker on my car because you were unsure about your own opinions. I realized, it’s okay to not contribute something to every political conversation, because let’s face it: half of us are probably just hopping on the bandwagon and supporting whoever the people around us support.